In 1907, the T.B. Potter Company commenced to develop Bayocean, a resort town facing the Pacific Ocean on the spit that reaches north from the southern edge of Tillamook Bay. Potter predicted his creation would be the "Queen of Oregon Resorts."

In 1928 a road was opened, but erosion had begun to consume the beach. Disintegration of resort developments followed with winter storms lashing the spit's seaward side. Gradually, as the land was eaten away, only stubborn residents hung on to their homes until they were threatened or fell apart. The result was irreversible, and the entire development — streets, houses, and other buildings — was eventually claimed by the ocean.

By 1948, Bayocean, queen of Oregon resorts, had eerily vanished. The spit is now uninhabited. However, the sand has built up once again and the spit is intact between Cape Meares and almost Barview, the entrance to Tillamook Bay. Tillamook has a day use park near the south end of the spit.